Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1887-06-11
LAND is CAPITAL.
THE CREATURE OF SOCIETY
AND HUMAN LAW.
Exchange Values and Functions OF
Capital-The Land Title Made
by Law and CustOm-Henry
Georges Position.
Cash Capital.
BY DR.. A DOUAI,

1t is very strange that the above
truth should be doubtful in the eyes
of a new school of philosophers. In
common parlance, anything is desig
mated by the name of capital which,
being valuable, is used for the pro-
duction of interest or its equivalent.
And the scientific term of capital
cannot exclude land, which pays
rent, from the notion of capital.
There was a time when the name
Of capital was not applied to land,
because land was, as a rule, not
bought and sold or mortgaged, had
no exchange value-as was the case
in the ancient Greek and Roman
states, and through all the middle
ages. But since laws and custom
allow the sale and mortgaging of
land. it has a value of exchange and
functions as capital. OF course there
are differences between the several
kinds OF capital. Cash capital is diff
ferent from capital invested in ma
chimes, buildings, shares and public
securities, and from capital invested
in the soil. Cash capital is, how
ever, convertible into other forms Of
capital, and the latter are reconvert-
ible into cash, having an exchange
value.
The theory of Henry George finds
another difference between land and
all other forms of capital. Land
cannot be created by man, he says,
while cash, machines, buildings, and
other forms Of capital are created by
human work. This position of oul
friend is, however, incorrect, be-
cause political economy has to do
with exchange ralues only. No
doubt, land cannot be created by
human laws or custom. The land
title, the right to the exclusive own
ership of a parcel of land and the
protection of this exclusive right are
creatures of human law. Since no.
body can put land in his pocket, Or
carry it in his hands, or sit upon 1t
and securely "possess it, unless
entitled by law to do so, its value OF
exchange is literally created by
human law, like all other ownership
and exchange value of capital. In
the sense in which Political Econo.
my speaks of values, there is not the
slightest difference between land and
all other forms of capital.
Henry George says that land Is
created by God. But, if that is true
it is no less true that man cannot
create anything-can only change
the forms and uses of all things or
which he bestows his work. Gre
alton in its strict sense, in which il
means making something out o
nothing, is an absolute term Ever
nature does not create, but trans
forms only. But man claims thai
extraordinary, that ridiculous priv
ilege of creating something out o
nothing-titles of ownership for pri
vate persons Of what man cannot ere
ate. If this practice of society is t.
be wrong, with regard to land, j
must be wrong with regard to al
forms of capital-to the title to casl
and its equivalents, to machines ahC
means of transportation, becaus'
they are created by the State. Th'
ownership of all these things is pro
tected by the State and would no
exist without this protection or onl,
SO far as the individual could protee
it himself. ....... 81. .....
1t is not even correct to maintain
that land cannot be private property
because it would carry with itself the
right to exclude all other men from
the means of existence. The lay
would allow that now to the fulles
extent. But the mighty would fal
to enforce such law. The owners o
all the land do now drive million
- ,-to I,at.,t continents. bnt a